Who dares to the beat the devils?

It might seem to be a very cocky title to some of you but if you think about it,the Delhi Daredevils have some played some fantabulous cricket to earn this appellation.They are on an incredible winning streak having won 8 matches of the 10 that they have played!

Against Rajasthan the other night,they were probably out of the game for the first 7 overs when the most dependable opening combination of this season in the form of Dravid and Rahane were going hell for leather.Rahane initially began the assault as he seemed intent on removing the 1 run loss from his mind against the double D’s a couple of days ago.They scored their 6th 50 run partnership in just 5 overs and the royals were looking to post an enormous total.But as we all know,it just takes one good over to turn the table sin a T20 match.A Morne Morkel bouncer hit Rahane on the helmet which certainly made him lose his focus.He was chipping the ball unnecessarily in the air and his timing seemed to have deserted him after the hit.Even after Rahane’s dismissal the odds were stacked in the favour of the royals as they were boosted by the presence of Shane Watson in their line up.It was IPL that resurrected Watson’s career and he played one of his trademark pull shots much to the pleasure of the crowd.However,a young left arm spinner in the form of Pawan Negi had other ideas.He removed Watson’s off stump and later had Hodge caught at gully as he attempted a cut shot.Owais Shah seems to have just tailed off in last two or three matches as he has hardly contributed anything.Negi, then finished with 4 wickets at the end of his four overs thus justifying his captain’s faith in him.

While all of this was going along,Rahul Dravid was staring down at a situation from where he had rescued India on numerous occasions during his playing days.He is not a natural six hitter but that wouldn’t deter him from trying.He scored another half century at a strike rate of excess in 135.So much for all those who say that he shouldn’t play T20.

The Daredevils began their chase on a dreadful note as they lost Mahela in the very first over of their innings.He was given out leg before wicket while attempting to whip the ball onto the leg side.However,after that small hiccup it was smooth sailing for the for the men from Delhi.Sehwag took the matter into his own badgering and bludgeoning every bowler who came in his way.He scored his 5th consecutive half century while maintaining a strike rate of over 180!That’s staggering! Kevin Pietersen ,on the other end,was more than happy to just watch the proceedings from the other end and occasionally showcasing his class as well.

The margin for error while bowling to Sehwag is minimal.He would defend one ball and if the bowler makes the mistake of bowling the same kind of ball to him one moretime,he just dismisses it out of his sight!That’s the kind of fear that he develops in the mind of the bowlers.The Daredevil camp would be saddened by the fact that Pietersen would be leaving them as he has been called on for national duty.They would miss his services as the South African born English player had won a couple of matches for them in his short stint.On the up side,they have a replacement in the form of David Warner!

Tonight,the Royal Challengers Bangalore would be taking on King’s X1 Punjab.While Bangalore would be looking to cement their position in the top 4,Punjab would be wanting to create yet another upset!